Marriages

Similar to the birth frequency, the number of marriages has dropped considerably since the 1960s. The “Golden Age of Marriage” in western Germany was followed by a major reduction in marriage frequency, which was far lesser in the former GDR. On its unification with the Federal Republic, the marriage frequency in eastern Germany lessened dramatically and in the meantime it has again reached roughly the western German level. In addition to the sinking tendency to marry, the reduction of persons in the age groups with the highest marriage intensity also contributed to the declining number of marriages. In recent years this trend changed as a slightly rising marriage tendency, linked with the growing number of young people as of 30 years of age, led to an increase of marriage numbers: In 2015, the number of 400,000 marriages was exceeded again for the first time since 2000.

However, the delay of marriage until an ever-higher age persists as a trend.